The Effects of Informational Feedback on the Energy Consumption of Online Services: Some Evidence for the European Union

Ana Salomé García-Muñiz and María Rosalía Vicente
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Ana Salomé García-Muñiz: RegioLab, University of Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain
María Rosalía Vicente: Applied Economics Department, University of Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have scarcely been considered in studies on green consumption. Likewise, little attention has been paid to the effects of informational feedback on household energy ICT-related consumption. This paper aims to fill these gaps in the literature. Using microdata from a representative sample of the European Union population, this paper analyzes, in a novel way, whether the provision of information about the energy consumed by online services would make internet users change to a greener ICT consumption behavior. To assess this issue, Heckman type selection models are estimated. The results show that people’s concerns about environmental problems, their environmental activism and self-perceived efficacy as consumers are directly related to the influence that information provision exerts. We also find that frequent internet users and those with better digital skills are more willing to change their online behavior if given information on energy consumption.

Keywords: energy consumption; informational feedback; information and communication technologies (ICT); internet; consumer efficacy; environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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